The Hoosier Motorist Collection

Hoosiers love their cars. In one digital image collection, the Hoosier Motorists Collection, you can find images from all over the state depicting people having fun in campers, auto company executives, road signs, travel photos and more.

The items in the collection were once owned by Robert Hamilton Scrogin, an official in the Hoosier Motor Club and an early editor of The Hoosier Motorist, which the Hoosier Motor Club published from 1912 through 1979. The Hoosier Motor Club got its start in 1902 when Carl G. Fisher and other automobile enthusiasts formed a social group called the Flat Tire Club in Indianapolis. In 1911, the Flat Tire Club was reorganized and its name changed to Hoosier Motor Club. Members began doing more than road trip adventures throughout the state. They began pushing for road funding, danger and directional signage, and more. The Club became an affiliate of the American Automobile Association in 1917. Its membership soared from 500 in 1917 to 1,250 in 1918. By 1982, the Hoosier Motor Club had more than 200,000 members.

The Hoosier Motor Club began advocating for better roads, safety and more in 1918. This image shows the excavation of the Delaware Street bridge in April 1924.

Ezra Meeker and several other men pose in front of and beside his Pathfinder in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., in 1916.

A Hoosier Motor Club speed warning sign, one of several that were installed near Indianapolis. Also featured in the photo is the Hoosier Motor Club road sign vehicle and driver. This photo was taken on the National Road west of Indianapolis.

We even have a mobile museum on a 53-foot, double expandable trailer featuring automotive history in Indiana traveling the state’s festivals called History on Wheels. Find the full schedule here.